When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.

    One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.

    Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pat her. Of course she'd let anyone pat her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.

    Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.

    Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps(打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy (补贴) by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.

    On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.

It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.

    Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.

    Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China's big cities. To be fair, these companies' business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for businesspeople through the Internet and mobile phone apps.

    Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Therefore, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.

    Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.

    But while it's long been believed that endorphins (脑内啡）—chemicals in the body that cause happiness — are behind the so-called “runner's high”，a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.

    According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素）may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.

    To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice.

    Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise, along with many other chemicals. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety.

    But after being given a drug to block their endorphins the change. However, when their endocannabinoids were block with a different drug, their runner's high symptoms seemed to fade.

    “The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner's high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,”Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.

    Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it's already well known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety.

    The UK's National Health Service even prescribes (开药方)exercise to patients who are suffering from depression.

    “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can boost your mood if you have depression, and it's especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的）depression,” it wrote on its website.

    It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we're feeling down, we know that all we have to do is put on our running shoes.

    Here are some music festivals that you might be interested in.

    Boogie

    Tallarook, VIC(26－28 March)

    Boogie is definitely kid-friendly, but with a few rules. Kids are welcome, but need to be fully supervised(监管) at all times and out of the licensed area by 10 pm. Kids under 8 years old are admitted for free. Kids between 8 and16 get in cheaper. There are some activities for kids and a great kid-friendly area.

    Splendour in the Grass

    Byron Bay, NSW(24－26 July)

    Look, Splendour can be pretty crazy, so if you and your kids are out of practice with handling festivals and the stress they can sometimes bring, maybe you should try starting smaller. But if you feel like you can do it, then your kids are welcome to hit Splendour with you. The usual rules apply — you'll need to have them with you at all times if they are under 16 and they can't go into bars. If the child is under 11, then they will get in for free.

    The Gum Ball

    Hunter Valley, NSW(22－24 April)

    We didn't originally include the Gum Ball because they took last year off and we wanted to make sure they were definitely returning. Not because we have anything against them. On the contrary, they are one event that manages to balance brilliant music and a family-friendly vibe(氛围).

    Bellingen Turtlefest

    Bellingen(30 September－2 October)

    Great music for a great cause! Bellingen Turtlefest has been set up to raise funds and awareness for the critically endangered Bellinger River Snapping Turtle, while giving families a chance to enjoy some great music at the same time. There's a kidzone, sideshows, workshops and markets, but also an education center and some guest speakers so that the kids (and you) can learn a thing or two while you're at the event.

    WeChat, the Chinese social media smartphone app, saw an increase in user numbers of 41 percent year on year to 500 million at the end of last year, in a sign that parent company Tencent is extending its reach for the mobile Internet. As one of the largest Internet integrated service providers in Chinaand one of the most Internet users in China, Tencent's profit grew 24 percent to RMB 20.98 billion per year, slightly higher than forecasts, driven mainly by online gaming profits. It is unclear how much WeChat contributed to Tencent's profits but the app's growth is a strong indicator of the company's long-term health as it tries to adjust its business to be more suitable for mobile devices.

    "We extended our leadership in games and online media, and made breakthroughs in emerging platforms such as online security and mobile payments." Ma Huateng, Tencent chairman, said in a statement. WeChat is the second highest ranked social app in China, behind QQ, Tencent's another chatting app, which claimed to have 815 million registered monthly users at the end of 2014.

    Tencent has been unwilling to earn money through WeChat by flooding it with advertising, which could influence the users' experience. But this is expected to change. Some analysts anticipated(预期) that advertising would be introduced on a large scale later this year. Early attempts to test ads on the service have not always gone smoothly. After a BMW ad was introduced on some users' feedbacks in January, many users who were not targeted by the brand's marketing complained of "discrimination" by Tencent's data mining algorithm(数据挖掘算法). They claimed it unfairly treated them as not wealthy or successful enough to view the BMW ad.

Kelli Boehle says her son Nik was an amazing and caring person. Nik was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer in 2008 when he was 17. He passed away in 2012. But Nik's kindness and generosity have lived on long after his death

After he was diagnosed and started treatment, Nik was granted a wish experience from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "For just this period of time, we didn't think about cancer," Kelli Boehle said. "All we thought about was enjoying our time together." In 2009, Nik met another young man Nate, who was also going through cancer treatment. He'd been diagnosed a month after turning 18, and Nik learned he was too old to qualify for a wish. The night before Nik passed away, he asked his mother to help ensure that young adults fighting cancer could have their wishes come true too.

"It was like a seed he planted that just wouldn't stop coming into my mind," she said. In 2012, Kelli Boehle started Nik's Wish. The nonprofit grants wishes to young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 who are battling cancer. Nate was the organization's first wish recipient. "It's meant to bring them joy and know that they're loved and that we're fighting for them, too," Kelli Boehle said.

Recently, 19-year-old Jordan Morrow received her wish to attend a Taylor Swift concert as part of a trip to Los Angeles. For Morrow, who has spent the last year battling brain cancer, going to the concert has done more than lift her spirits. "I think it's something to get me through whatever comes my way," she said. "And I'm thankful for Nik's Wish for that."

In the 1lyearssinceNik passed away, the organization has granted more than 300wishes across more than 30 states. In the beginning, Kelli Boehle says she wasn't sure she could be a wish maker and work closely with the young adults.But now, it'sher favoritething to do.